Paris Hilton has issued an apology for
calling gay men on Grindr “disgusting” and likely to have AIDS.

Hilton made her comments while speaking
to a male gay friend in a New York City cab during Fashion Week
earlier this month. The conversation was secretly recorded by the
cab driver and released to the media.

“Say I log into Grindr, someone
that's on Grindr can be in that building and it tells you all the
locations of where they are and you can be like, 'Yo, you wanna
fuck?' and he might be on like the sixth floor,” the male friend is
heard saying.

“Ewww. To get fucked? Gay guys are
the horniest people in the world. They're disgusting. Dude, most of
them probably have AIDS,” Hilton
responded. “I would be so scared if I were a gay guy. You'll
like die of AIDS.”

On Thursday, Hilton apologized for her
comments in a statement released through GLAAD.

“As anyone close to me knows, I
always have been and always will be a huge supporter of the gay
community. I am so sorry and so upset that I caused pain to my gay
friends, fans and their families with the comments heard this
morning. I was having this private conversation with a friend of
mine who is gay and our conversation was in no way towards the entire
gay community. It is the last thing that I would ever want to do and
I cannot put into words how much I wish I could take back every
word,” the hotel heiress said.

“HIV/AIDS can hurt anyone, gay and
straight, men and women. It's something I take very seriously and
should not have been thrown around in conversation.”

“Gay people are the strongest and
most inspiring people I know. It is so wrong when people bully or
put down others for being gay. No one should have to go through
that. Again, I am so sorry from the bottom of my heart and I feel
absolutely horrible. I hope that everyone can accept my apology and
know that it is not who I am or how I feel in any way.”

GLAAD agreed with Hilton, saying
“HIV/AIDS can affect anyone.”

“Over thirty years into the AIDS
epidemic, better education around HIV/AIDS is still needed by much of
the public and the media,” the group said.